October 19

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. — Eph 6:17 BSB

There is only one weapon with which we can effectively fight Satan, and that is the Word of God. But note, it must not merely be the letter of the Word—it must be the "sword of the Spirit," a spiritual sword that can only be wielded when the Word of God is applied with divine power to your heart, and when you have a living faith in it as "life and spirit" to your soul. Simply quoting a text to resist Satan's temptation is of no use unless that text is truly yours—unless you can wield that sword as one skilled in its use. To take up a text without knowing its sweetness and power would be like a child taking up a warrior’s sword without the strength to wield it. The child may play with the sword, but what is the sword of a giant in the hands of a child?

The sword of Scanderbeg, a famous Albanian warrior who fought against the Turks, was once displayed in Vienna. A man who saw and handled it said, “Is this the sword that won so many victories? I see nothing special in it; it’s just an ordinary sword.” The response was, “You should have seen the arm that wielded it.” In the same way, it’s not merely the quoting of scripture that will repel Satan’s fiery assaults. That would be like having Scanderbeg’s sword without Scanderbeg’s arm. Rather, it’s the Word of truth brought into our hearts by the power of God, with faith raised up to believe that God Himself speaks it to our hearts. With this faith and by the strength of the Spirit, we can wield the Word in living exercise and resist every attack from Satan.

In this battle, we must not give up. To flee is to be defeated, for as Bunyan wisely said, there is no armor for the back. Even if you stumble and fall in this conflict, don’t lie there as a conquered captive—get up again and fight. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." He is a defeated enemy; if you belong to the Lord, he cannot destroy you. The Word of truth is full of gracious promises and sweet encouragements to "endure hardship as good soldiers of Jesus Christ" and never submit in heart or hand to sin or Satan.